**sorry the lighting was goofy!
Thinking about going to Uganda??? Watch this!
Wednesday July 4
Happy birthday dad, all the way from Uganda!!!
Well today was our last full day in Uganda. We have had a crazy busy past 5 days but I couldn’t have been more thankful. We started our morning by being able to sleep in an extra hour!!! Instead of waking up at 5am like we have been the past few days, we got to sleep till 6. Wow does that make a difference. The hotel had the best breakfast and the staff was incredible with accommodating us and making sure everything was going well. So after the yummy breakfast we went back out on the lake (this time in a motorized canoe boat) and had about an hour long ride across the big river over to an island that housed the Batwa Pygmies community. We were told we were going to do some hiking, but we were not prepared for the hike we were about to do. We could literally crawl up the hill to get there.
It definitely got our hearts pounding! We were assisted by some kids from the community and they held our hands and guided us up the mountain. Once we got to the top, we entered into this small community and people gathered around and performed songs and danced for us. I had a constant smile on my face! It was beautiful and also seeing the kids participate…. I even participated and attempted to dance!
After the performance, we had another opportunity to purchase souvenirs that were made from them. Then, we walked over to the school on the island and were in a room full, and I mean full of children of various ages. They started singing and clapping, I was crying!!!! Even the circumstances of the kids, they still had smiles on their faces and were having fun.
Finally, it was time to hike down that mountain. Boy was that hard. I had two boys holding onto my hands guiding me down and I kept slipping and sliding down the hill making them go with me lol. One of my friends even resulted in sitting down and sliding down the hill because it was that steep. This was a serious workout!
After our visit to that island, we headed back to the hotel where we were provided lunch which was also very tasty. Then, we started our 8 hour car ride journey to Entebbe which is where we will be staying until we leave tomorrow night.
I am exhausted!!!!!
Tuesday July 3
Well this is our last morning in Queen Elizabeth National Park! Boy am I going to miss the views from our room… but definitely not the hike to get down there lol. We started today off by going back out and doing an early morning game drive to try one more time to see some lions and other animals. It was about the same as yesterday except today we got to see an elephant grazing peacefully. After that game drive, we had a long drive to Lake Bunyonyi which is right by the Rwanda border. The place we stayed at was BREATHTAKING. Here is a photo of the lodge I stayed in:
Once we got settled in, we went to the lake and canoed. I know how to canoe, but it was very strange because they didn’t really show everyone how to do it, they just stuck us on the canoes and told us to go! I know some people were frustrated with that because they had no idea what they were doing, so I understand, but even me knowing how to didn’t make a difference because these canoes were so hard to control! Haley, Bri and I were in the same canoe and we had to turn around and attempt to come back because ours started to fill up with water!!! It wasn’t like we were going to sink in seconds, we had time to get back and everything but I am sure glad we made it back before the others.
Now, when I travel, I love to meet new people. We had the opportunity to talk to this couple from the UK while waiting for the others to come back. They were the sweetest young couple. He worked in a private school and she recently quit her job as a designer so they could travel. They have been gone since last August visiting multiple places all over the world!!!! I mean, they had a break and went home for a month but how cool is that?!?! I am so happy we had the opportunity to talk with them and talk about our cultures and the different experiences we have each had.
Monday July 2
This morning we went chimpanzee tracking and it was SO cool. Our dress code: long pants, long sleeves, closed toed shoes, hats preferred. It was not hot like I was dreading it to be because we were in the forest covered by all the trees, so it was actually chilly and comfortable.
We started early in the morning and i believe it only took us 2 hours because we were successful in finding some chimps! Our guide mentioned how yesterday, they spent 4+ hours walking around looking and they only found 1. I sure am happy that did not happen to us! We actually spotted some fairly quickly and once we spotted one, we found a few more and even some babies. Some were high up in the trees, and some even climbed down to the ground, but not close to us. That was such an awesome experience and I am so happy we got to do that!
After chimp tracking, we set off for a game drive in the savannah. The animals to look out for: water buffalo, lions, elephants, ugandan kob. Unfortunately, we didn’t see any lions because recently, a group of lions went into the local community and ate the cows, so they got poisoned and died. Only 1 lion had been spotted recently and unfortunately we didn’t get to see it. But it is still very fun to sit on the top of the vans to get the views! Speaking of sitting on top of the vans, holy moly do you get dirty! But, out of the three vans in our group, mine was traveling last, so all of the dirt from the vans ahead just collected onto our faces and clothes lol
Here’s a pic of my face after the ride:
Sunday July 1
Day 2 of being a tourist!
Today we traveled to Queen Elizabeth National Park which is on the western coast of Uganda, close to the Democratic Republic of Congo. We went on a boat cruise on the Kazinga Channel (45 km long) and Lake Edward. Here, we saw elephants, hippos and water buffalo!!!
Can you believe I took this above photo?!?! Perks of having a nice camera. This was the main reason I purchased an expensive camera, because I wanted to take neat photos while on my trip here!
Afterwards, we got to go on a little game drive (safari) on our way back to the lodge. Speaking of lodge, this place is the most gorgeous place I have ever stayed at! This lodge is located in Queen Elizabeth National Park, it’s called Enganzi Lodge. The hike down to our lodge is awful but the view is completely worth it, so no complaining here 🙂
Here is a photo of the beautiful sunset that was taken RIGHT outside on our porch!
From our room, I was able to see some packs of Elephants. My friend described them as nuggets because they were so small!
Tomorrow we are going chimpanzee tracking and I could not be more excited!!!!
Saturday June 30
Today is the day we leave!!!!
Well, we left bright and early this morning and some of our friends woke up early to send us off which was amazing but also sad at the same time. Once we left Ndejje, we traveled a couple of hours to the Ugandan Equator! It was not how I pictured it to be! It was very casual and there were a lot of cool shops around it for us tourists to shop at.
After the equator, we drove about 2 hours to the lodge we were staying at which is called Rwakobo Rock Hotel. This place was GORGEOUS! I was getting a photo taken with the gorgeous view and the managers puppy came up!!!!! I was a happy girl.
The food here was so good, I think I gained back the 10 lbs I have lost!!!!!
After quickly getting settled in, we set off for our boat tour on Lake Mburo. On the way here, we saw Zebras, Impalas, various monkeys, and even saw giraffes in the distance (I might have cried just a little 😉)! The van that we drove it was so cool because the top slightly comes off, so we can stick our heads out or even sit on top!
On the boat tour, we saw a lot of hippos everywhere!!!! We also saw a lot of different birds which was neat and also some crocodiles.
After all of this, we went for an evening game drive (safari) where we did not really see much, just more impalas and zebras, but it was still so amazing how close we got. After this, we went back to the hotel and had a late dinner and got settled into our rooms for the night. One huge perk were the warm showers!!! I have not had one of those in 4 weeks! I was a happy happy girl. Sitting on top of the safari bus, we got SO dirty from all of the dust and dirt, our faces even turned black haha! So a warm shower was nice to have.
Friday June 29
Well, today is our last day at Ndejje University! This morning we had the opportunity to explore what the germans have been working on here at the university. Burning charcoal is very popular here. As I have learned, charcoal comes from the trees here, which eventually could result in deforestation. So, the Germans came here and started this 3 year project (that recently started I believe last October) where they make corn cobs into charcoal. I don’t quit remember all of the logistics of it because while he was explaining it to us, I became very dizzy so had to step out a few times (I was very dehydrated this morning).
Later in the afternoon, we all met up at one of the local bars in the trading center to all celebrate the friendships we have made, so a bunch of students from Ndejje showed up along with our two professors who brought us here. It was such a fun last time to get together and hang out with everyone before leaving in the morning!
I really am going to miss Ndejje. I have made so many friendships and have learned so much these past 4 weeks here. My favorite thing about traveling is meeting new people and the students/faculty here have really set the bar high with their hospitality, kindness, and friendliness. This is definitely a place I will never forget (especially the many tall hills we have had to climb each day 😅).
Here’s a pic of me and one of the friends I made, Rajab. Fun fact: he is 7 feet tall and plays volleyball here at Ndejje!
Thursday June 28
Today was a very sad day..
It’s not over yet but this morning the faculty threw us a farewell celebration which was so nice but sad at the same time. Everyone there has impacted my trip and experience here. One of my really good friends from my group, Monica, had to leave today so it was the last time I saw her. She has made such an impact on my life from this trip.
Monica is in my field group, so that is how we met. She is so outgoing and I am outgoing so we hit it off right away. I saw her pretty much everyday while I have been here at Ndejje and she wasn’t just a peer, we actually became really good friends and talked and joked a lot. She loved to play with my hair all the time which obviously I loved so I let her play with it every chance we were together. She has taught me a lot about the culture here and she has taught me some funny words in Luganda also which has become an inside joke between us. One funny thing she taught me and some of the other American students was how to bargain the boda boda drivers because they were overcharging us Americans (not that it was a big deal because 1,000 shillings is like $0.25) so she always had our backs when it came to that. I am going to miss her so so much but I am very thankful to have made such an amazing friend like her while here at Ndejje!
The tears in our eyes show how sad we were 😅😪:
Wednesday June 27
Hey guys!
3 more days here at Ndejje!
This week is going by very slow, but let me tell you something funny…
So, I am a very clumsy person. I fall all the time and trip over everything. Here, the roads and trails that we walk are very rocky so I am constantly tripping. Everytime I trip around a Ugandan, they say “sorry.” I always thought that was funny that they say that! Even people who aren’t walking with us and just passing by say sorry. Well, yesterday my friend and I were walking back down to the hostels and some Ugandan student was walking behind us and just out of no where I said “sorry.”
You know you’ve lived in a country for awhile when you start talking/acting like the citizens here….
UGANDA miss me when I'm gone.... 